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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Registration - BugMeNot.com

Many people -- me included -- find compulsory registration for websites to be more than an annoyance. Sites like the Washington Post and the LA Times only provide access to content to those who have gone through a registration process, which often "costs nothing and will only take a moment." It does take time and I almost instantly forget my snazzy new username and password, so I have to go through the whole process again to read another article sometime later. The questions may also be pretty instrusive and perhaps a violation of Canadian privacy laws.

A website, called Bugmenot.com, has a handy database of usernames and passwords for many of news sites, catering to those who don't like sharing personal information only to read an article. The service is free, but they have a new registration process for certain users. Take a look at their clever registration form at BugMeNot.com:

To help us create a "better online experience" for our visitors we require certain types of users to register.
If you are an employee, partner, affiliate or legal representative of any site which enforces compulsory user registration then we require you to complete our registration process. It costs nothing to register and will only take a moment.
Registration must be completed prior to using any resource of bugmenot.com including viewing pages or emailing the site operators. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of our Terms of Use and non-authorization to use this site. Server logs don't lie.

Labels: information breaches